Chapter 1: Bath Time

My POV

"Ah...Finally, a lake!" I sighed with relief as I set my bags on the ground. Well, bag really. It just felt so heavy, like a bunch of bags. I had everything I would need inside it. The bag was fairly large, and made from the waterproof hide of a penguin.

And no, I didn't kill the penguin. I bought the bag, so you can stop jumping to irrational conclusions, okay?

The bag contained things such as spare clothes, soaps and perfumes for bathing, a mirror, a brush, money, jewelry to sell incase I'm low on cash. I also have a large amount of dried emergency food for, well, emergencies. Duh. I also have a water pouch filled with, you guessed it. Water. Oh yeah, I also have a blanket and towel thrown randomly in there.

When I was getting ready to leave home, I was sort of rushing, and didn't have any time to really think about what I was doing. But anyways, back to the newly-found lake.

"Chi!" cried my little fox-squirrel, ChiChi. Yes, I know a very original name. But at least it makes sense, and sounds cute!

ChiChi was an adorable little thing. She's about the size of a squirrel, and has basically the body of a fox. Hence, the name "fox squirrel." She's a light brownish tan fur, and dark brown stripes, and the cutest rabbit-like ears! She's just so adorable!

ChiChi was tired and wanted a rest, so I set her down on a nearby rock which was warming up from the early-afternoon sun, and she "chiid" gratefully before rolling up into a fluffy little ball.

I gave a soft little chuckle as I walked off towards the shore of the lake, examining it. It was fairly large, and shown a clear-blue crystal beneath the sun's rays. I glanced around quickly to be sure that no one was around to watch, and smiled happily.

Perfect, now I've got the entire place to myself.

I've been looking for an adequate place to bathe. Now that I finally did, I was happy.

After taking one more glance around the area, my hands moved towards the sash around my waist and my fingers nimbly began untying it. When I had removed the silken material, my dress was open, and swayed slightly in the soft breeze which began to gently surround me. I returned back to undressing as I bent down and removed my bamboo sandals and my black tights before swiftly slipping off my dress and neatly folding and placing my clothes in a pile next to where ChiChi was sleeping.

The sun kissed my bare skin and I felt warm and free. I reached up a hand and released my hair from their silk bindings and let it fall openly down to my waist. I liked to keep my hair long, but it was sometimes a hassle to deal with, so I often tied it up.

I stepped into the cool water of the lake, cautiously at first, but then over my suspicion, plunged underwater. It felt great to feel the softness of the water around me, and I had missed it during my long journey.

After swimming around for a bit, I quickly got out from the water to retrieve some of my herbal cleansing soaps before returning.

When I was once again out towards the mouth of the lake (I could stand in the water, it only came up to about my lower stomach.) I knelt down and began gently lathering the soapy foam deep into my hair to remove any dirt or dead skin I might have festering upon my scalp. When I had covered all of my hair with the sweet scented foam, I dove under water a bit towards he deeper section of the lake to remove the liquid from my hair. When I surfaced, I was sure to go back towards the lake's mouth so I could stand.

3rd Person POV

Aang and his friends Katara, Sokka, his bison Appa and his flying-lemur Momo were trekking steadily through a slightly dense, but nonetheless beautiful forest this day. The sun shown high overhead and warmed their cold bodies. For outside the forest, the temperature was a great deal cooler. When they arrived at the far side of a glistening lake, they decided to take a rest and set up camp.

"Hey Aang, Sokka, listen, I'm going to go look for some wood so we can start a fire. I'll be back soon," the fourteen-year old girl said gently as she removed her heavy jacket, exposing a long sleeved shirt in the color of the clear sky overhead.

"Yeah, we don't have anymore whale blubber for Aang to stupidly waste to start a fire anymore, do we, Katara?" Sokka replied to his younger sister by 1 year, Katara. He was glaring daggers at the young monk who only gave a shaky laugh and a shrug of the shoulders in response.

"Okay, I'm going," Katara smiled and waved back at the two boys before heading off back into the forest.

"Hey, what do you want to do, Sokka?" the twelve year old wind-bender asked thoughtfully.

"Personally, all I want to do is eat, but we can't until we've got a fire started, and we have to wait for Katara for that. So, nothing really, I guess," came Sokka's blunt answer.

Aang stood still for a good 30 seconds or so before exclaiming gleefully, "Let's go explore! Maybe there are some fun new animals in this forest!"

And without waiting for the 15 year old's debating response, he grabbed hold of Sokka's wrist and ran speedily around towards the right hand side of the lake. It was too big to see all the way across it, so they didn't notice a young girl bathing happily inside it, until it was too late.

"Hey, Aang," Sokka whispered hurriedly to the boy crouched beside him. "Look over there!"

They had found a large section of bushes filled with berries right besides the shore on the right hand side of the lake, and were shoving handfuls of the sweet fruit insides their mouths.

Aang looked questioningly at the older boy before looking off into the designated direction across the lake. What he saw startled and surprised him all at once.

Not too far off, the clear, full image of a girl, around the age of fourteen (Katara's age) could be seen standing waist deep in the lake's pure waters.

The girl had just surfaced from the depths of the lake, and stood up gracefully on long legs with the sparkling of water droplets upon her fair skin. She flipped her long ebony hair over and onto her backside, as it reached a few inches below her waist.

The view the two curious boys had of her was that of a side angle. They got a look of her profile, and her full, ripe young body.

The two of them were intrigued by this new girl and couldn't separate their eyes from her, for fear that if they even blinked, she would suddenly disappear.

But what they witnessed next was an even greater shock than the noticing of another person's presence (the girl). Before their eyes they saw the waters of the lake enfold upon the young female as she sang softly to herself. She was a water bender! She twirled her hands slightly in an almost rhythmic motion and the water encircled and danced around her body in ribbons. She controlled them, and they did her bidding.

Sokka thought her only as beautiful, but Aang perceived her as something far greater.

She was indeed a rare beauty to behold in these divided lands, but she had a skill. A beautiful art driven solely from a gentle passion, not a hostile ambition such as those from the Fire Nation. This girl was mysterious and Aang held such curiosity for her that it completely overwhelmed him.

He stood up and away from the concealment of the berry-filled bushes to achieve a greater view. But acting on impulse, he accidentally stepped upon a twig. Causing it to snap and break.

The boy, along with Sokka were frozen in place from fear as the girl spun around in alarm; noticing these new viewers for the first time.

As she gazed heavily upon them, she felt a burning sensation creep up among her cheeks as her heart pounded in her chest. She was shocked and amazed and embarrassed all at once. And maybe because of this strange concoction of emotion, that is why she longed to be nearer to these new people.

So without thinking she summoned up her skills and made her way over to them. Completely oblivious to her lack of clothing, as well.

Both boys were puzzled at what was happening as the girl, having noticed them, came slowly towards them. But more amazingly, she wasn't wading among the water. She was walking, on top of it!

Sokka almost mechanically rose up and stood to join Aang as the girl now stood before them on the lake's sandy shore.

My POV

We all stared at each other for the longest time until I finally spoke up.

"Who are you, and why are you spying on me?"

The younger of the two boys, whom looked about 12 or 13, sprang to life. "Ah ha ha, yeah sorry about that! Hi, my name's Aang, and this here is my friend Sokka. Say 'hi', Sokka."

Aang elbowed the older boy in the ribs which presently brought him back down to reality.

"Yeah, um, hi," he blushed furiously, trying to keep his gaze up towards my face.

It was then that I realized that I was standing in front of these people, stark naked!

Oh God, what now?

My cheeks flared at my previous thought, but I tried to remain calm. I said fairly coolly, "Ah, it seems that I am in need of clothing, am I not? Well, they're on the other side of the lake. Let me just—"

The boy with the arrow markings upon his body, Aang, chimed in happily, "Oh, I'll go get them for you!"

"Um, okay…" I blinked at his sudden, friendly outburst.

Then he presently created and orb-like circle of air which he hopped on top of, and used to fly rapidly across the lake to where I had indicated my belongings to be.

Now I was left.

Alone.

With this "Sokka" character who kept glancing down at my chest areas whenever he thought I wasn't watching. But oh, I was. Talk about awkward. For me, at least…yeah.

End of Chapter 1

Author's Note: Thank you SO SO SO much for reading, and please R&R! I would really appreciate it!